Richard Greil1, Petra Obrtlíková2, Lukáš Smolej3, Tomáš Kozák4, Michael Steurer5, Johannes Andel6, Sonja Burgstaller7, Eva Mikušková8, Liana Gercheva9, Thomas Nösslinger10, Tomáš Papajík11, Miriam Ladická12, Michael Girschikofsky13, Mikuláš Hrubiško14, Ulrich Jäger15, Michael Fridrik16, Martin Pecherstorfer17, Eva Králiková18, Cristina Burcoveanu19, Emil Spasov20, Andreas Petzer21, Georgi Mihaylov22, Julian Raynov23, Horst Oexle24, August Zabernigg25, Emília Flochová26, Stanislav Palášthy27, Olga Stehlíková28, Michael Doubek28, Petra Altenhofer29, Lisa Pleyer30, Thomas Melchardt30, Anton Klingler31, Jiří Mayer28, Alexander Egle30. 1. Third Medical Department at the Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Salzburg Cancer Research Institute (SCRI), Salzburg, Austria; Cancer Cluster Salzburg (CCS), Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: r.greil@salk.at. 2. First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic. 3. Fourth Department of Internal Medicine-Hematology, University Hospital and Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. 4. Department of Internal Medicine-Hematology, Univ Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady, Prague, Czech Republic. 5. Department of Internal Medicine V, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria. 6. Abteilung für Innere Medizin III, Landeskrankenhaus Steyr, Austria. 7. Abteilung für Innere Medizin IV, Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen GmbH, Austria. 8. Department of Hematooncology 2, National Cancer Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia. 9. Clinic of Hematology, University Hospital St Marina, Varna, Bulgaria. 10. Third Medical Department for Hematology and Oncology, Hanusch Krankenhaus der Wiener Gebietskrankenkasse, Vienna, Austria. 11. Department of Hemato-oncology, University Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic. 12. Department of Clinical Oncology 1, National Cancer Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia. 13. I Interne Abteilung, Elisabethinen Krankenhaus, Linz, Austria. 14. Clinic of Hematology and Transfusiology, Slovak Medical University, University Hospital Bratislava, Slovakia. 15. Department of Medicine I, Division of Hematology and Hemostaeology, Medical University Vienna, Austria. 16. Department of Internal Medicine 3, Kepler Universitätsklinikum GmbH, Med Campus III, Linz, Austria. 17. University Hospital Krems, Karl Landsteiner Private University of Health Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine 2, Krems, Austria. 18. Department of Hematology, FNsP F D Roosevelta, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. 19. Clinic of Haematology, Regional Institute of Oncology Iasi, Iasi, Romania. 20. Clinic of Hematology, UMHAT St George and Medical University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. 21. Innere Medizin I, Krankenhaus der Barmherzigen Schwestern Linz, Linz, Austria. 22. Hematological Clinic NSHATHD, Sofia, Bulgaria. 23. Clinic of Medical Hematology, Military Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria. 24. Innere Medizin, Landeskrankenhaus Hall, Austria. 25. Innere Medizin II, Bezirkskrankenhaus Kufstein, Austria. 26. Department of Hematology and Transfusion, University Hospital Martin, Martin, Slovakia. 27. Department of Clinical Hematology, FNsP, J A Reimana, Prešov, Slovakia. 28. University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and CEITEC, Brno, Czech Republic. 29. Salzburg Cancer Research Institute (SCRI), Salzburg, Austria; Cancer Cluster Salzburg (CCS), Salzburg, Austria. 30. Third Medical Department at the Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Salzburg Cancer Research Institute (SCRI), Salzburg, Austria; Cancer Cluster Salzburg (CCS), Salzburg, Austria. 31. Assign Data Management and Biostatistics GmbH, Innsbruck, Austria.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In many patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia requiring treatment, induction therapy withrituximab plus chemotherapy improves outcomes compared with chemotherapy alone. In this study we aimed to investigate the potential of rituximab maintenance therapy to prolong disease control in patients who respond to rituximab-containing induction regimens. METHODS: In this randomised, international, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 clinical trial, we enrolled patients who had achieved a complete response (CR), CR with incomplete bone marrow recovery (CRi), or partial response (PR) to first-line or second-line rituximab-containing chemoimmunotherapy and randomly assigned them in a 1:1 ratio (central block randomisation in the electronic case report form system) to eitherintravenous rituximab 375 mg/m(2) every 3 months, or observation alone, for 2 years. Stratification was by country, line of treatment, type of chemotherapy added to the rituximab backbone, and degree of remission following induction. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. Efficacy analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population. This is the final, event-triggered analysis. Final analysis was triggered by the occurrence of 92 events. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01118234. FINDINGS:Between April 1, 2010, and Dec 23, 2013, 134 patients were randomised torituximab and 129 to observation alone. Median observation times were 33·4 months (IQR 25·7-42·8) for the rituximab group and 34·0 months (25·4-41·9) for the observation group. Progression-free survival was significantly longer in the rituximab maintenance group (47·0 months, IQR 28·5-incalculable) than with observation alone (35·5 months, 95% CI 25·7-46·3; hazard ratio [HR] 0·50, 95% CI 0·33-0·75, p=0·00077). The incidence of grade 3-4 haematological toxicities other than neutropenia was similar in the two treatment groups. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 28 (21%) patients in the rituximab group and 14 (11%) patients in the observation group. Apart from neutropenia, the most common grade 3-4 adverse events were upper (five vs one [1%] patient in the observation group) and lower (three [2%] vs one [1%]) respiratory tract infection, pneumonia (nine [7%] vs two [2%]), thrombopenia (four [3%] vs four [3%]), neoplasms (five [4%] vs four [3%]), and eye disorders (four [3%] vs two [2%]). The overall incidence of infections of all grades was higher among rituximab recipients (88 [66%] vs 65 [50%]). INTERPRETATION:Rituximab maintenance therapy prolongs progression-free survival in patients achieving at least a PR to induction with rituximab plus chemotherapy, and the treatment is well tolerated overall. Although it is associated with an increase in infections, there is no excess in infection mortality, suggesting that remission maintenance with rituximab is an effective and safe option in the management of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in early treatment phases. FUNDING: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Medikamentöse Tumortherapie gemeinnützige GmbH (AGMT), Roche.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: In many patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia requiring treatment, induction therapy with rituximab plus chemotherapy improves outcomes compared with chemotherapy alone. In this study we aimed to investigate the potential of rituximab maintenance therapy to prolong disease control in patients who respond to rituximab-containing induction regimens. METHODS: In this randomised, international, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 clinical trial, we enrolled patients who had achieved a complete response (CR), CR with incomplete bone marrow recovery (CRi), or partial response (PR) to first-line or second-line rituximab-containing chemoimmunotherapy and randomly assigned them in a 1:1 ratio (central block randomisation in the electronic case report form system) to either intravenous rituximab 375 mg/m(2) every 3 months, or observation alone, for 2 years. Stratification was by country, line of treatment, type of chemotherapy added to the rituximab backbone, and degree of remission following induction. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. Efficacy analysis was done in the intention-to-treat population. This is the final, event-triggered analysis. Final analysis was triggered by the occurrence of 92 events. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01118234. FINDINGS: Between April 1, 2010, and Dec 23, 2013, 134 patients were randomised to rituximab and 129 to observation alone. Median observation times were 33·4 months (IQR 25·7-42·8) for the rituximab group and 34·0 months (25·4-41·9) for the observation group. Progression-free survival was significantly longer in the rituximab maintenance group (47·0 months, IQR 28·5-incalculable) than with observation alone (35·5 months, 95% CI 25·7-46·3; hazard ratio [HR] 0·50, 95% CI 0·33-0·75, p=0·00077). The incidence of grade 3-4 haematological toxicities other than neutropenia was similar in the two treatment groups. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 28 (21%) patients in the rituximab group and 14 (11%) patients in the observation group. Apart from neutropenia, the most common grade 3-4 adverse events were upper (five vs one [1%] patient in the observation group) and lower (three [2%] vs one [1%]) respiratory tract infection, pneumonia (nine [7%] vs two [2%]), thrombopenia (four [3%] vs four [3%]), neoplasms (five [4%] vs four [3%]), and eye disorders (four [3%] vs two [2%]). The overall incidence of infections of all grades was higher among rituximab recipients (88 [66%] vs 65 [50%]). INTERPRETATION:Rituximab maintenance therapy prolongs progression-free survival in patients achieving at least a PR to induction with rituximab plus chemotherapy, and the treatment is well tolerated overall. Although it is associated with an increase in infections, there is no excess in infection mortality, suggesting that remission maintenance with rituximab is an effective and safe option in the management of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in early treatment phases. FUNDING: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Medikamentöse Tumortherapie gemeinnützige GmbH (AGMT), Roche.
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